Reclaiming Life
by Strix Pulvis
Summary: (Mythical AU!) Luffy, the God of Life and Happiness, unintentionally lingers too long in the human world, causing himself be cursed by his fellow gods. Unfortunately, the curse's "side-effect" causes the Joy and Safety in the world to vanish completely. Can Luffy bring back the Joy that he once brought the world? Or will he, again, be too late? (Rated T for language)
1. The Legend

**All right! I'm SO excited about this story! You guys are going to love it! I told it to my sister and she said that it was really good! I think it's good, too! Now I can finally add the characters I enjoy writing about the most: the D's! **

**They're really cool! And if you don't think so, I hope to change your mind in this story! ;) But, if I don't it's cool! :)**

**Remember that gods live longer than humans do! So, in this book, 50 human years = 5 god years. 100 human years = 10 god years.**

**I hope you enjoy this story! Thanks!**

**DISCLAIMER!: All the rights to the characters in this book go to Oda himself. These are not my characters!**

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_In a world far, far away and much like our own...but...not... There is a large continent that is sectioned off for two very different people. One side of the continent is inhabited by normal people with normal lives. This section of the land is called the Blue. They are just like you and I. Split up into different villages, the people have tribal lifestyles. Growing crops, tending to cattle and sheep, they were independent and happy. Their religion was much different from our own, though. _

_The other half of the continent was where their gods lived. It was called Deiterra. It was a beautiful land that never died. In the people's religion, this was the place where the sun was made and would be let out into the sky like a balloon, but at the end of the day, it would loose it's energy and fall back down to the ground again where the gods that inhabited Deiterra would fill it up with energy again. _

_The King of the Gods was the ruler of the Sky. His name was Dragon. Dragon was a mysterious, yet kind god and rarely did anything to the people of the Blue. Whenever he did help the people, it would be to bring rain to the crops and the people. Hurricanes, tornadoes, and other disastrous storms were rare and would only happen when he would get angry. Being a long-tempered god, that was, thankfully, rare._

_Dragon's brother, Roger, was the god of Wealth and Fame. Roger's son, Ace, was the god of Fire. Many years ago, Ace had ran away from home because he hated the reputation he had in the world because of his father. Roger would often give wonderful gifts to worthy men, but that caused jealousy, thus gaining Roger and his entire family a bad reputation among the wealthy. Ace had not been seen for many years and was rarely talked about._

_Finally, the King of the God's had a son. His son was the god of Life, Happiness, and Determination, Luffy. Because of his power, he was naturally foolish and playful. The thing he did best was causing trouble. Yet, the thing that Luffy was most of was curiosity. Meeting new people was always his favorite. Luffy was the only child in Deiterra, so what else was Luffy to do then want a friend? Yet, Luffy's lonely life in Deiterra wasn't going to last long. Soon, it would crumble just as Life did..._

* * *

**_Fifty Years After the Young God's Birth..._**

"Your majesty!" a large, dark-skinned god called out.

A tall man with long, slicked-back, black hair turned around to look at the other god, "Yes?"

"Your son! He's a menace!" the god growled, "My apologizes for saying this, King, but... you've got to handle your son! He is yours! Take responsibility for it! Don't leave that brat on our shoulders!"

"Calm yourself, Teach," The King of the Gods said quietly, "He is just a child! Of course he is going to want to play. Don't talk to me as if there is a way to fix the way the youth behave. Return to me if he is disturbing the peace in one hundred years."

"O-one hundred years, King Dragon?" Teach stuttered.

"Did I mumble?" Dragon challenged.

"No, sire, but you have to admit that is quite a long time!" the god complained.

"I cannot. To the humans that would be an entire lifetime, but to us that is a mere nine or ten years," Dragon replied, "Do not fret. It will be a mere blink of an eye, you'll see. All good things come to those who wait, dear Teach!"

"I don't care if it was just one human year! Ten god years is still too long! I want peace and quiet this instant!"

Dragon turned to Teach and roared in a booming, intimidating voice, "_Was that an order?_"

Teach stopped. "Ah-N-n-no, sire! I can wait! I'll be patient! You'll see! Oh, and... I hope that you don't mind but I had the warrior spirits arrest your son... He's outside the door, sire..."

Dragon lifted his head up, closed his eyes, and let out a low, tired sigh. "And on a holiday, too... How is this going to get any worse? All right, Teach, bring him in. Oh, and release him before you let him in."

Teach agreed and left. When the doors opened again, a small little boy ran into the room and hugged his father's legs. "They're so mean, daddy! I don't like them!" the little boy cried.

Dragon smiled softly and crouched down to look at Luffy in the eye. "Luffy, you are aware of why they captured you, aren't you?"

"Was it because..." Luffy hesitated, "I was being rowdy?"

"Yes! That's exactly why, Luffy!" Dragon nodded. "You have to care for you actions more! If you don't, then no one in Deiterra will like you! We don't want that, now do we, Luffy? You're a very wonderful, cheerful person. You deserve better than having your fellow gods complain about you. Now, Luffy, will you promise to me that you will behave? This is a very special day, Luffy. Today is the new holiday meant just for you, Luffy! It's the day of your birth, May 5th. Everyone in the Blue is celebrating you! They'll give you gifts, my son. But, they won't give you any gifts ever again if you show them your bad side. Will you behave today, Luffy?"

"Yes!" Luffy nodded.

"Good," Dragon smiled. Suddenly, a large bell rang through the air like a beautiful melody. "It's time, Luffy. Go get dressed, quickly! You don't have much time until the ceremony! If you're late, you'll make a bad impression!" With that, Luffy ran off to his room.

He grabbed a long robe that was studded with brilliant red gems and crystals. It was almost too big for him, but it would work. Luffy ran back out to his father, took his hand, and then they walked out of the palace. As they walked through the streets, the annoying, teenage spirits teased, "You gonna mess this up, kid? Just like you ruined the God of Trickery's garden?" They all burst out laughing.

"Wha-No! I wouldn't do something so _stupid_ like ruining a garden or like dying at fifteen like you guys did! I'm smart! I'm the Prince of the Gods! Don't laugh at me-" Luffy barked.

"Luffy!" Dragon hissed, "Don't! That is not what a god does. Stand tall and _show _them what true pride is, Luffy."

Luffy gasped and then nodded. He straightened his back, standing rigid and firm like Dragon was above him. Luffy felt annoyance boil up inside of him as he heard the teenagers laughing harder.

Finally, they arrived at a tall staircase that extended over the trees of the Blue. "Come, Luffy. We have to go up these stairs."

"Where do these lead?" Luffy asked as he walked up the steps.

"To the clouds," Dragon replied, "While in the clouds, the humans below cannot see us. Thus, we can witness the celebration without drawing too much attention to ourselves." They walked up the stairs to come to a beautiful view of the world below in the clouds. On a certain cloud was a large fire as well as many of the other gods celebrating around it. The moment they saw Luffy, they stopped and called out cheers to him, congratulating him and wishing him luck. Dragon grabbed Luffy's shoulder and pointed down to the village below where thousands of people danced and sang cheerfully. A large crowd of people walked up to a freshly painted altar and placed wonderful gifts under the shrine. "Those are the people that worship you, Luffy!"

Luffy stared down at them in awe. There were so many children and people of so many different ages down there. There were not like the ghosts, but their figures were crisp and well-defined. "Can... Is there any way that I can meet them?"

"What?" Dragon gasped, "Luffy, that's too dangerous!"

"Oh, please, Daddy?" Luffy pleaded, "Just for today? I'm so lonely! I promise, if I can meet them and talk to them, then I'll never misbehave in the town ever again! I'll be the best god that you could ever ask for! Just... please! Let me have this one day to be happy!"

Dragon hesitated. "A-all right, Luffy... But the moment the celebration ends, you must return to Deiterra. If you don't, you will be punished! Do you promise to return before the sun rises tomorrow?"

Luffy nodded, "Yes, Daddy!"

"Now, since I can't do that, I'll ask a friend to do it for me," Dragon said. He looked over at a god far away from them. "Teach! Come over here!"

The god that he had been talking to previously came over to Dragon and asked in a low, annoyed tone, "What is it this time, your majesty! I'm not going to babysit your brat..."

"No! I want you, since you are the god of Illusions, I want you to temporarily turn Luffy into a human. By the time the sun rises tomorrow, he will be punished. Do you have all that, Teach?"

"Ah! So, it's a lesson, huh?" Teach laughed, "I think you're right. This brat deserves a good punishment! He's be such a pain..."

"Don't disappoint me, Teach!" Dragon warned.

"Oh no, your majesty! I won't!" Teach laughed proudly. "Oh, and also, King Dragon, I'm not the god of Illusions... I'm the god of Darkness and Trickery! Don't underestimate me..." Teach walked up to Luffy and put a hand on his shoulder, a black fog rolling out of the large god's hand. Luffy's clothing suddenly turned old and poor. "Listen to me, Luffy. These fake clothes will keep your appearance hidden from the humans. Do not, whatever you do, cause a ruckus or else you shall be punished. When you return into the land of Deiterra, your facade will disappear and you will go back to living a normal, god life. Yet, if you do not return by the time the sun leaves to Deiterra in the morning, you will be punished so harshly, you won't be able to fool off ever again."

"I understand, Teach!" Luffy said, "I won't fail you guys!"

With that, Luffy disappeared into the village below. When he opened his eyes, he saw people dancing, singing, and laughing all around him. His heart filled with excitement when he saw everyone around him. Somehow, he didn't feel so lonely anymore. Suddenly, Luffy felt something ram into his back. "Oof!" someone behind him said. There was a bang as the figure collapsed to the ground.

Luffy looked behind him to see a little girl with short, orange hair. "Oh! I'm sorry!" Luffy apologized as he helped the little girl to her feet. She wore a worn, brown, fur-skin dress with a tooth necklace around her neck. Luffy blinked. "Who are you?"

The little girl looked up at him and also blinked in confusion. Frowning, she crossed her arms and scoffed, "Well, it's quite rude to ask a person who they are before first introducing themselves!"

"Oh! It is?" Luffy said, "In that case, my name is Luffy! It's nice to meet you!"

"Luffy?" the little girl gasped, "But that's the god's name!"

"W-what?" Luffy stuttered.

"Are you a god?" she asked.

He stared at her in shock for a long time before finally saying, "No! I was named after the god!"

"Oh... All right... My name is Nami," she introduced. "I came here with my mom and my older sister! Who'd you come here with, Luffy?"

"N-no one," Luffy replied. "I'm... I'm an orphan. I don't have any parents. I live alone in the forest! I came out here to celebrate the great god's birthday just like all of you guys!"

"Why?"

"What? What do you mean 'why'?" the Prince of the Gods asked with narrowed eyes.

"Why would you, an orphan boy that lives in the forest alone, come out here to celebrate a god's birthday? Why would you care about that sort of thing?" Nami asked him. She was getting on his nerves now with all of her questions...

"Well, I was born in this village. But then my parents were... killed...? Yeah, killed," Luffy lied, "I came all the way out here to spend some time with you guys; after all, it does...you know, get sort of lonely when I'm all by myself in the forest in there. It's so dark, and none of the monsters like me... And..." Luffy hesitated, "and all I want is a friend!"

Nami blinked at him. "A...friend?"

"Y-yes! Is that bad?" Luffy challenged.

"No! It's just fine!" Nami smiled, "Because I like having some!"

Nami reached down and grabbed the Prince of the Gods' hand. "Wha-what are you doing! Let me go!" The little girl didn't listen to him, though. They ran through the crowd of people, running under the legs and their feet.

"Here we are!" The two stopped at a large shrine with a large statue of the god sitting on the throne in the shrine. _'I look younger than that!' _Luffy growled in his thoughts as he stared up at the god on the throne. Nami walked over to the shrine and untied the tooth necklace around her neck and placed it on the shrine. "There! Now maybe the god can get it, don't you think, Luffy?"

"Huh?" Luffy looked up at her. "Oh! Yes! More than anything! He'll get it. I'm sure he'll treasure it, Nami!"

Nami smiled. She pointed down at a wool bracelet. "My friend, Usopp, gave this to God Luffy-_sama_. He's an amazing at making things!" Motioning to a plate of chicken, Nami said, "And my other friend Sanji gave him that! He's a chef's apprentice!"

"Oh," Luffy nodded.

"Come on, Luffy! I want to show you something!" Nami pulled him through the forest to a small river. She looked up and down the river to see if anyone was there. "Hmm... It doesn't look like Usopp or Sanji are here yet... Oh well! This is the forest where the tribe lives, Luffy! You must live in the other forest next to Deiterra, huh?"

"Yeah, something like that...!" Luffy smiled.

"You should stay with us, Luffy! It's so wonderful at the village; there's no monsters there and everyone's really nice! You should come!" Nami told him. "You could live with my mother, Bell-mère, and my sister, Nojiko!"

Luffy shook his head with a gentle smile, "That's really kind of you, Nami, but I-"

"Nami!" a woman's voice called out through the forest, "Where are you, Nami? It's time to head home!"

"I'm here, Bell-mère!" Nami called out to her mother.

A woman with red-violet hair with a strange hairstyle on, a pipe hanging out of her mouth. "I told you not to wander off here during the celebration, Nami! Come on, we're going home!"

"What? Why, Bell-mère? What's wrong?" Nami asked.

"I got in an argument with a man selling snacks back there. Nojiko wanted something," Bell-mère said as she held the hand of a small girl with blue hair. Bell-mère widened her eyes at the sight of Luffy, "Ah! Who's this cute little guy, Nami? A friend of yours?"

"His name is Luffy!" Nami introduced.

"Hello, Luffy!" Bell-mère greeted, "Where's your parents?"

"He doesn't have any!" Nami answered for him.

"Oh? He doesn't?" Bell-mère's eyes widened. "Then why don't come home with us, Luffy? We have a very nice home! You'd like it a lot, I'm sure!"

"I can't... B-but, thank you for asking!" Luffy tried his best to make sure everyone he met liked him after being told that if the humans hated him, they'd loose trust in their god of Happiness and Life.

"Oh? Why not, kid? You look so cold in those clothes!" Suddenly, a loud growl erupted from Luffy's empty stomach. Bell-mère lightly nudged Luffy's side, "C'mon! Don't be shy! You don't have to stay with us forever, just long enough to get that tummy of yours all full!"

"I... I suppose I could spend a few minutes with you guys..." Luffy decided cautiously. _'I'm sorry, Daddy... I'm just REALLY hungry!' _Luffy apologized to the King of the Gods in his head.

With that, the Prince of the Gods went back to his new friend's house. Nami's mother served a huge meal of several different types of meats, vegetables, and lots of oranges. What Luffy thought would be only an hour or two turned into a _couple _of hours. The four spent the time singing, dancing, and laughing. The Prince had never been happier in his entire life! Finally, the commotion calmed down, but through all of the fun that he had had, Luffy felt extremely tired. _'I'll just close my eyes for a second or two, and then I'll get going...' _He told himself. But, the moment he shut his eyes, he fell fast asleep.

When the Prince of the Gods opened his eyes from his nap, he looked out the window to see the horizon growing pink. "The sun's coming up!" Luffy exclaimed in worry. He ran out of the house, scrambled down the road, past the gifts, and into the forest. "No! This can't be happening!" he screamed. Suddenly, Luffy felt something on his neck. He looked down to see the tooth necklace, on his wrist a wool bracelet, and... Luffy stopped at the sweet aroma of chicken.

The Prince of the Gods looked over to see a plate of chicken in the grass off the path. He stretched his arms toward it, picked it up, and wolfed the food into his mouth. Luffy began running again, flowers and gifts raining onto the ground the more he ran. Being the god of Determination, he was always hungry for more, literally. He was surprised at how many people gifted him with food. The gifts that he just _had _to collect slowed him down more and more.

Suddenly, something shocking happened. Luffy stopped. "What..." he looked around in confusion, "What am I...? What am I doing? Where am I going? Um... Oh, yeah! Deiterra! I've gotta get back to the gods!" He continued to run. This happened more the sun rose. Luffy looked up ahead to see the sun a few inches out of Deiterra. "_No! Please, Sun! Don't go! Don't leave!_" Luffy called out. He was so close!

The sun floated from Deiterra and into the sky. Everything stopped in Luffy's world. His legs fell to the ground; his face hung down, his hair covering his eyes. The Prince's breath was slow, quiet, and steady. His large, black eyes were narrowed in utter confusion. Luffy's head slowly raised to stare straight up into the sun's rays. "What...?" he whispered, "What's going on? What am I doing? Where am I? W-who am... Who am I?"

* * *

_This is the legend of the God of Life, Happiness, and Determination. For goofing off and not paying attention, his punishment was being unable to remember ever being a god. Only knowing his name, the God of __Life, Happiness, and Determination_ disappears. The world looses hope, awful monsters raid villages and kill the innocent, and happiness and life almost completely vanishes.

_And yet, one day, far in the future, our hero rises again to save the world, bring back the joy, and reclaim his throne..._

**To Be Continued...**

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**Ooh~! How'd you like that story, y'all? Hahaha! Hmm... I'm actually kind of nervous if you guys will even like it... But, hey! I'm an author! It doesn't matter if I'm scared; I should stick up for my art, my masterpiece, right! :D**

**All right, in case anyone was wondering, this is not a real religion: I made it up. Just wanted to like... point that out.**

**That's all I have to say! Bye, y'all~! :D Talk-Write to you guys later! Bye~!**

**(I REALLY hope you guys enjoy this! My stomach has butterflies right now I'm so nervous! Hope you like this!)**


	2. Brothers

**All right! Next cha****pter... I hope that I get more reviews on this one! ;) My sister is like, all pumped up about this book so... I'll write the next chapter! :) Writer's block coming with "I'm Gonna Change You"... I'll get by, don't worry. You shall have your chapter! (Prepare yourself: I've got a lot to say, so this might be long...)**

**_SPOILERS:_ Rahhh! Excuse moi rant: Chapter 742 (Hey! My 4 button is working again! :D Awesome!) made me happy, but really mad at the same time! I really liked the flashback and all, but... the ending... I was really thinking that Usopp was going to _redeem_ himself! But instead how he won was by using a _weird face_! Usopp, we know that you have a weird face with your nose and stuff, but you're also really awesome in your own way, without looking at your face! If you're going to show us that you have hero potential in you through all your weak actions, then I'd like to see it not by you screaming and making a strange face as you pass out, but as you actually SHOWING us something great... *sigh* But, Usopp, you're a great guy... I'll let it pass this once, but if you do it again, I won't be so forgiving... (I'm watching you...!)**

**Chapter 743 was... strange. I mean, Sabo! Buddy~! I love yah! :D You're just too cool, bro! I could hardly breath when I saw that Dragon Breath! You, sir, are the meaning of epicness! (You, too, Luffy! You know your my fav~! ;D) Anywho, what I was concerned about was... Doflamingo! I mean... _Kyros_ killed him! I mean, I do NOT think that he's dead! I mean... he can't be! R-right? I would have thought that either his devil fruit would have saved him because maybe the strings can bring his head back together, or I could I agree with the fans reviewing that it was a clone of Pica, but my only flaw with that is that Doflamingo was watching the Colosseum fight because he was thinking "Isn't Lucy supposed to be Luffy?" or he was interrogating Law and King Riku! Also, wasn't Luffy watching him the entire time as well? Buffalo and Baby 5 were watching him, too. There's no way that Doflamingo and Pica could have switched places! (Right?) If that WAS Doflamingo, then I just want to say that when I first saw his head getting chopped off I was like: "AHH! Oh... Oh, no! He's _not_ dead! His string power will put his head back together again, and then Luffy will put him in his place!" But then I saw... I saw Buffalo and Baby 5 _screaming _in _fear_! Weren't they together for MORE than 12 years!? How is that they get freaked out when they see his head roll to the floor? Wouldn't they know what his power can do and be proud of it? They wouldn't _SCREAM_ when they saw his head roll to the ground! W-would they? If Doflamingo is REALLY dead, then I just want to ask Oda right now: WHY DID YOU MAKE KYROS DO IT?! LUFFY IS THE MAIN CHARACTER! Kyros is awesome and everything, but Luffy's the main character (like I just said)! The author must always be there for his main character! Make your main character shine brighter than the brightest star in the sky! Oda... Are you just crazy tired and need a nap pronto because you've gone insane, or are you planning something that is going to blow our mind greater than with Sabo? Don't go all atomic bomb on us, Oda! 'Coz I'm NOT. READY! :(**

**Anywho, the myth I made up in the last one is COMPLETELY made up. It's not from some other religion, I just made it up: it just...came to me! You know? Oh! And, by the way, once a Deiterrian God stays too long in the Blue, their ages become affected and they begin to age just as the humans do. So, that means that they age each year, not every ten or hundred years. Just in case you were wondering while reading this~! :) **

**Just wanted to inform y'all: Deiterra is a word I made by compounding the two Latin words '_dei_' (coming from the word for god: '_deus_'), "of the gods", and '_terra_', "the land". So, it means "the land of the gods". Hope that helped y'all!**

**Let's get stared, shall we? Hope you like it~!**

**DISCLAIMER: All characters are owned by Odacchi-_sensei_! (We love you, Oda-_sensei_! We can't wait to see Sabo's face! ;D)**

* * *

_**12 Years After the Accident...**_

"Get outta here, yah damn brats!" a gruff voice barked from inside a small hut.

Two young men leaped out from the hut and scurried down a small path that led deep into the jungle. They laughed as a fat, middle-aged woman ran from the hut and started to bark insults and threats at them. The birds that flew in the trees and the predators that lurked in the shadows all ran in fright of the two young men. They were infamous. Their names were recognized all throughout the jungle. No one dared mess with these young men; they were dangerous pests...

Finally, they had made it to a small river and sat on a thick branch on a massive tree. The older man had a handsome face: a chiseled jaw with freckles and messy, ebony-colored hair. His eyes were dark, his skin tan. His age was around twenty-one years old. "You're getting better at the getaway, bro!" he said in a low voice.

"Thanks, Ace!" the younger brother said. He was also fairly handsome; he had a rounder face-since he was younger-with unruly raven-black hair. His eyes were so black that that they looked like black holes that faded into nothingness. His skin was tanner than his older brother's, though. The young man looked about seventeen years old.

"No problem," Ace smirked, "Luffy!"

They tore into the flesh of a dead bird that they had cooked down below on the surface of the jungle floor. Luffy stopped eating and looked up at his older brother hesitantly. "H-hey, Ace?"

"Yep, Luffy?" Ace asked without looking away from his food.

"You know how you said that you were going to... leave when you were in your early twenties, which is... now," Luffy said nervously, not wanting to seem like he was trying to say anything specific.

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, when are you going to go? I mean, I don't mean to say that I think that you should leave or anything! I actually don't want you to... It'll be lonely here without you, Ace!" Luffy said quickly.

Ace blinked. "I was thinking about leaving in about a week. But, I was planning on not telling you so that you wouldn't get sad," he replied bluntly.

"What! You're leaving, Ace!" gasped the younger brother, "Oh, please don't, Ace! I'll be all alone! And Dadan is a rude, ugly jerk! I hate her! You're the only one, not counting Dogra and Magra; they're really nice... But, that's not the point! It's so lonely without you, Ace! If you leave, something could eat you or you could get lonely, too! Or worse: some big guy punches you through the chest with a huge, magma fist, burning all of your vital organs, thus killing you-almost-instantly!"

"Luffy," Ace sighed, "stop talking nonsense. That's _never _going to happen, _ever_!"

"You never know!"

"I do, Luffy. I know _everything_."

"_Holy shit_!" Luffy screamed in shock.

"You're kidding, right?" Ace muttered.

"Um... Yes? Yes! I am kidding," Luffy nodded with a proud smirk as if he was thinking, _'I got him goooooood~!'_

Ace laughed at him. He had always been the fun brother. Ever since Dadan, Ace, and his friend, Sabo, had found Luffy all alone in the forest one day. He had at first been a very quite child. Luffy had not been able to answer any of their questions, save for one: what his name was. Even though he was extremely quiet, it was plain to see that he was extremely lonely in his silent, confusing world. Yet, even though he barely knew anything except for his name, there was one thing that Luffy knew better than anything in the entire world: how to get a friend. It was his one, true skill. Through all of the years that Ace had known Luffy, the little boy had never once took a friend of his for granted.

Luffy's eyes widened when he felt a strong arm wrap around his neck and shake his hair into a complete mess (as if it wasn't in a mess already, though). "Don't worry, little brother! I'm not going anywhere today! C'mon, Luffy! Let's go harass the village!"

Pulling away from his older brother's grip, he fixed his hair and then smirked up at him. "You know me well, Ace!"

"I told you that I know everything, didn't I?" Ace winked.

The young man jumped from the branch and fell to his feet on the grass below. "Whoa! Freaky~! You're right!" Luffy gasped as he jumped down after him. "All right, I'm ready, Ace! Let's go!"

* * *

"Nami-_swan_~!" a voice in love sang, "Where art thou, my love?" The man that called out from behind the counter in the restaurant he was in was a long-legged man with blonde hair that covered his right eye. His eyebrows were also very strange, since they curled into spirals at the end. He wore fancy, black fur coats, and had a long pipe in his teeth. The smoke flowing from the pipe came out in heart-shapes.

"Why don't you just shut up, cook?" a gruff, stern-looking, green-haired man growled. He wore gray fur coats that revealed a muscular, scarred chest. Three, long swords were tied to his hips by a leather strap. Three gold earrings hung from his left ear.

"Hey! You're just another rude, daily costumer! What would you know about love, idiot swordsman?" the cook growled.

"You're the rude one here, stupid eyebrows!" the swordsman snapped, "I'm a costumer! Which means I'm your money right now. How'd you like it if I stop coming here? Where would your paycheck go, huh? Since I give you the thing you need to live, I should be treated like royalty! The costumer always knows best, after all!"

"Oh, like I care!" he snorted, crossing his arms and turning away from his mortal enemy, "You only come here to drink alcohol, marimo! Whole entrees are what makes my money, not drinks! Why should I care if one tiny little drunkard stops coming to this place? This place isn't a bar, you know! This is supposed to be a civilized restaurant where beautiful maidens come from all over the Blue to see... me! I don't care about your happiness, only the happiness of the beautiful angels that inhabit this world~! They are the only things that matter...!"

"And not you," the swordsman muttered as he took another drink of his drink.

"Hey!"

"Sanji-_kun_!" a voice from inside the kitchen called out.

Sanji, the blonde-haired man, gasped at the top of his lungs. "Nami-_swan_! Yes, my dear?" he asked as he went into the kitchen, the green-haired swordsman muttering things like 'good riddance'. Sanji appeared into the kitchen, Nami tapping a disappointed foot at him. Nami was a thin, slender, young woman. She had long, orange hair and brown eyes. From under her shirt, on her shoulder, she had a black tattoo in the shape of a pinwheel-tangerine. (**If you know Nami, you know what I'm talking about, right? ;)**) "Ah~! Nami_-swan_~! You are the symbol of perfection, indeed!" Sanji sighed as he stared at the woman he loved.

"Sanji-_kun_! How do you explain this?" Nami barked, ignoring Sanji completely. The young woman pointed down at the burnt food sitting in the pan on the stove. "Why are these here? Why did you leave cooking food? That's very unlike you!"

"Well, you see," Sanji replied nervously, "I was cooking them when I looked up to see you nowhere! I got so frightened, so I ran out to try and find you! But, when I called out for you, that stupid marimo out there distracted me with his idiotic comments!"

"Sanji-_kun_... I never just _leave _the restaurant! I'm always here! I was serving the people outside."

"Oh! I thought that you were abducted by rude men!" Sanji exclaimed aloud.

"What? Sanji-_kun_, that would never happen!" Nami said.

"Yeah! It's impossible!" The swordsman called out to them, "No man would be able to abduct this witch! She'd beat them harder than you would, swirly! You don't need to protect something like her!"

"Why don't you just shut the hell up, marimo!" Sanji snapped. "You're just a costumer-"

"Sanji-_kun_!" Nami whipped her head around to stare at him with a disappointed frown, "No matter how annoying that swordsman is, he's still a daily costumer! A cent is a cent, no matter how small! If we lose even _one _costumer, I'm quickin' you outta here! I need my money in order to survive, you know!" Nami turned around to the swordsman with a warm smile, "You know you're always welcome here, Roronoa Zoro~!"

Zoro raised his cup with a dip of his head. "Don't carried away, witch! I don't come here for you; I come here for my sake! Speaking of which, I need some more! Bring me some more booze!"

Nami grinned, "Of course~!" She turned back to Sanji. "Sanji-_kun_."

"I'll do anything you say, Nami-_swan_~!" Sanji called out.

"Good! Now, get to it!" she said. With that, she went back to where she was cleaning the plates that were sitting in a bucket full of soapy water. Cleaning was always a way that Nami could actually get any thinking in. _'At this rate, I'll be able to get the money I need. Maybe then I'll be free,' _she thought to herself. It had been twelve years since the God of Life and Happiness mysteriously disappeared. People would continuously bring the God gifts, hoping that they could bring him back with great gifts, thinking that he left because of something they gave him. The world had just gone downhill once he left.

Suddenly, a loud scream echoed throughout the streets. Nami, Sanji, and Zoro jumped up and ran outside. "Is it another attack?" Zoro asked aloud.

"I hope not!" Sanji said.

Two flashes quickly ran past them as a woman selling food and delicacies screamed, "Catch those thieves!" The two young men that had ran past the three were laughing as they shoved down food that they held in their hands down their throats.

"Phew! Good, it wasn't another attack!" Sanji sighed in relief.

"But a crime is still a crime!" Zoro announced heroically. He put a food forward, puffed out his chest, and stood tall, making all the young ladies squeal and scream, "Ooh~! Zoro's so cool~!" Zoro didn't work with any law makers, he was just a swordsman that liked the village to be safe. Truthfully, it wasn't that he liked or cared about anyone in the village; the only reason why he stopped crime was so that it would be safe enough and peaceful enough for him to be able to sleep in peace. Zoro was just as tough and grumpy as he looked. Yet, Zoro wasn't always like that...

Nami and Sanji watched as Zoro raced after the two, young, wild men. Zoro looked up the road to see them spring to the top of a building up ahead as if they were frogs. The green-haired swordsman narrowed his eyes and leaped onto a crate to a stand to a windowsill and then, finally, to the top of the building. Zoro unsheathed his swords as he prepared for a fight.

The oldest of the two thieves was a handsome, very muscular young man with ebony colored hair and freckles. He wore no shirt and had jaguar-fur pants on. A tooth necklace hung around his neck and one feathered earring draped from one of his ears. On his elbow was a cloth that was tied around it for decoration. His face was serious with a confident smirk stretched across his lips as he stood tall and proud beside the other man, who looked so much like him that it seemed obvious that they were brothers. The youngest brother had an ambitious smile as he crouched with his hands outstretched onto the ground. He was handsome in his own way, young, but still handsome. His structure was less muscular than his brother's but still well-built enough to have clearly-shown muscles on his arms, shoulders, chest, and abdomen. His shorts were made from a panther's pelt and he had a straw hat that hung from his neck. The two wore no shoes and the eldest brother, for his weapon, held a tall stick with a flame burning on the end that he seemed to be using as a torch.

"You've stolen something give it back!" Zoro growled as he pointed his swords at them.

The eldest brother laughed as he patted his stomach. "Sorry, pal, but it seems like we ate it all before we could return what we borrowed."

"So, we've decided to put it on our Treasure Tab!" the youngest replied.

"Well, if you ate it all, there is a way of getting it back," Zoro said, "But it ain't pretty. I'll just have to cut it out of you. It's just what you get for being thieves. Maybe you'll think about that next time."

The youngest laughed. "We already have thought about it, thanks! This is who we are: how we're raised to be. It's not so simple to give something like that back. You'll just have to go on without it, soldier."

"I'm not a soldier!" Zoro growled.

The brothers' eyes widened. "You're not?"

"No!"

The eldest dipped his head, "Then, please excuse us. You acted so much like a soldier, so we thought that you were one. If you're not a soldier, green-haired, then who are you?"

Zoro scowled. "I have no time to talk to you!" Suddenly, Zoro sprang forward and slashed his swords in attempt to cut them. The two were too quick, though, and they swiftly dodged the blade as if they were pieces of paper in the wind.

"Ah! So you're the kind that jumps right into things, huh?" the youngest brother chuckled.

"Luffy! We've gotta go!" the eldest brother urged, "We don't have time to fight this guy! Dadan will be waiting for us back at the house and we haven't even caught lunch, yet! Whatever you do, Little Bro, just escape!"

Luffy nodded, "OK, Ace!" With that, the two lively brothers dashed away over the houses toward the forest.

"Oh no, you don't! You kids aren't going anywhere!" Zoro barked as he quickly chased after them. It was difficult to keep his eye on the two quick teenagers and also on the buildings he was leaping to and fro from in case of falling. After looking down at his feet to make sure that he didn't fall of the edge of a building, Zoro turned his head upward again to see that the brothers were gone. Zoro gasped and ran faster to try and meet up with them again.

Finally, the green-haired swordsman arrived in the the jungle. No one went in the jungle, not even the bravest of souls. Past the jungle was Deiterra, which everyone feared, especially after the world turned upside down with the disappearance of the God of Life and Happiness. The reason why the jungle was uninhabited was not only because of what lay beyond it, but also because of the monsters that _did _live within the trees and shadows of the forest. Only people in their right of mind would know never to go into the jungle. Unfortunately, Zoro was no such man.

"Come out, you brats!" Zoro called out to them.

There was silence.

"I know that you're there! Now show your face, you cowards!" he barked again.

Finally, the youngest brother, Luffy, stepped out into the light with a bright, warm, charismatic smile stretched across his face. "Why, hello! I didn't think that you would really follow us here. You _are _something, aren't you?"

Zoro smiled. "And so are you, for living here, I suppose!"

Luffy smiled, "Thank you very much!"

"Now, kid, get this into your brain that just because we're getting along right now doesn't mean that I won't fight you! We're still on bad terms, remember that!" Zoro warned.

Luffy cocked his head. "I don't understand... I don't think that I did anything to harm you. So, why are you still trying to attack me? Did I bump into you as I was running away? You did say that you aren't a soldier, right? So, wouldn't that mean that you don't care about the peace within the village?"

"That's right: I don't!" Zoro nodded quickly.

"Then why are you still chasing me?"

"Because you disturbed _my _peace! If you did it once, then you'll do it again for sure, kid!" Zoro barked.

"You're weird, aren't you?" Luffy replied bluntly.

"What's that supposed to mean, you shitty brat!" Zoro growled. The strange teenager in front of him was not only getting on his nerves, but he was also kind of freaking him out... People don't just randomly talk to people the way he was.

Suddenly, Luffy dashed up close to Zoro's face, making him scream in shock. "Just because you're weird doesn't mean that I don't like you! You're also pretty brave. From the looks of it, you look pretty strong! My brother and I are late, so how about we make a deal?"

"A-a deal? What kind of deal?" the green-haired swordsman asked.

"If you help us hunt, then we'll never return to the village ever again!" Luffy announced. "How's that sound, swordsman?"

Zoro paused. It was an intriguing offer, but he knew that it was foolish to believe a strange kid so easily. "And what if I say deny your request?"

"Then we'll continue using your village for our playground. That meat was pretty delicious! I wouldn't mind comin' over there all the time!" Luffy said.

Zoro muttered something under his breath and looked away. The last thing that he wanted was his peace being disturbed. His main priority at the moment was getting rid of the two trouble-makers. "Fine... But I'll only hunt _one _monster with you and your brother! Got it?"

Ace sprang down from the trees above and laughed, "If that's what you want, then sure!" The elder brother grabbed onto Zoro's hand shook it fiercely, "With you hunting with us we'll have a huge stag or crocodile or maybe even a tiger for dinner! Any of those sound good, don't they, Luffy?"

"Anything edible is delicious, Ace!" Luffy smiled in excitement, "It's basic knowledge!" Ace smirked at his little brother and rushed off into the forest. Luffy turned to Zoro and narrowed his eyes with a smile, "C'mon, swordsman! You're gonna be left behind if you're gonna be like this! Run when you see others run! It's the law of this forest if you're ever interested in surviving!"

Zoro widened his eyes in worry that he would get left behind as he watched the jumpy young, teenager running off into the forest. "My name's not 'swordsman'! It's _Zoro_!"

"Want me to call you that?"

"I wouldn't have you told it if I didn't want you to call me by my name!" Zoro said. He had never ordered someone to call him by his given name before. It felt strange, and yet it felt stranger for this young boy to call him a nickname. He really was something...

_**Six Hours Later...**_

The sun slowly lowered behind the hills in the distance. A crackling fire was made in front of the three young men, and behind them was an enormous pile of bones. They laughed heartily as they shared stories and their deepest secrets. Zoro had never felt so happy in all of his life! It was as if he could just stay with the two brothers, who were now his dear friends, for his whole life. Their life really was very pleasant and care-free! It was paradise compared to the hell that the green-haired swordsman lived in.

Zoro sighed and leaned back on the bones behind him. "This is the life! I could get used to this!" Zoro smiled. "You know, you guys aren't that bad!"

They laughed. "Really? You think so? You're the first to say that! A lot of people don't like us. They think that we're insane for living a life like this!"

Luffy rose to his feet and stretched out his bones. "I'm going to go get a drink of water in the stream over there," he replied, "I'm going to come back, all right? Don't do anything fun without me!"

"Bye bye, Little Bro!" Ace called out as Luffy left. He smiled and looked back at Zoro. "Thanks for spending time with us, Zoro! You're a great guy! I'm sorry that we interrupted you to make you come hunting with us, though."

"Nah, forget about it!" Zoro said, "I liked hunting with you guys! You're nice! Besides, it made me see how great you guys really are! Seriously, your life is amazing! It's way better than the hell I've gotta live in..."

Ace smiled warmly. "It really is! I could actually leave here anytime I felt like it, but I just didn't want to go back to... _that _place..." Ace frowned softly as he turned back to Zoro, "It's Luffy who can't leave... He doesn't remember anything, sadly."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Zoro muttered as he stared at him impatiently.

Ace stared at Zoro for a while before smirking, "I bet I can trust you! Here, we never properly met," he put his hand forward for a handshake and replied calmly, "My name is Gol. D Ace, the God of Fire!"

Zoro blinked at him in shock for a while before frowning. "I don't believe you..."

Suddenly, the top of Ace's black hair burst into flame. "_Now _do you believe me?"

The green-haired swordsman screamed and fell back. "Y-yes! I believe you! Holy...! I'm sorry, sir! I committed so many sins! Please forgive me!" he begged.

"Oh, shut up..." Ace growled, "That's the exact reason why I left... Too many responsibilities... 'Ace, do this!' 'Ace, do that!' Everyone looks up to you either because you're a god or, more importantly, because your stupid father is the God of Fame... I didn't want to grow up to be someone like that... No one likes Fame: it always leads to greed..." Ace looked toward the place where Luffy disappeared. "I like my little brother! He's not greedy. He's a good kid! Maybe that's because... he's the God of Happiness."

Zoro's eyes widened. "He's...?"

"He doesn't remember a thing, though... He was put under some curse, I heard. Poor kid..." Ace turned back to Zoro, "I heard that you humans are suffering pretty bad, huh? Because Luffy, the God of Life and Happiness disappeared, so did the things he governed. I heard that life is pretty tough back there."

"Monsters and awful men keep attacking our villages. The guy attacking ours is a creepy fish dude named Arlong, or something like that..." Zoro replied.

For a long time, Ace simply stared at Zoro as if he was thinking about something very important. Finally, the young man said, "Zoro? I'm leaving for Deiterra soon because the gods have told me that if I don't come back, they're going to take away Fire, so... I have no choice, I suppose. But, because of that, I have to leave behind my little brother, so I need you to do something very important to me. Can you?"

"Sure! What's up?"

Ace leaned towards him and whispered seriously, "I need you, Roronoa Zoro, to bring back the God of Life and Happiness. Make Luffy a god again and have him return Life and Happiness back to the Blue!"

"A-and if I don't?"

"Then thousands of people will _die_."

* * *

**Good God! That should NOT have taken as long as it did! I feel like I'm going to blow! Thank goodness that that's over and done with! I'm going to write Chapter 3 soon. I just have to finish up the next chapter of 'I'm Gonna Change You'. **

**DON'T WORRY! I'm going to finish Chapter 8 of 'I'm Gonna Change You'! Soon... I just gotta read Chapter 744 on Wednesday first... I want it to be exciting SO bad! **

**Sorry that I haven't been publishing for a while... It's just that school is really frustrating... I mean, it's not _hard _it's just that a lot of things have been happening and whenever I got on my computer, I've just gotta rest my brain by reading, like, an entire manga, which doesn't help AT ALL! But, yeah, I'll try making chapters shorter and publishing sooner for y'all! :)**

**Hope you guys enjoyed it~! I'll publish both books soon! Take care, everyone! :)**


	3. The Journey Begins

**Good morning, evening, afternoon, night or... anything else... everybody~! :D**

**I seriously love all of your comments! :) They're so nice! I've decided to do write one chapter from one book, finish it, and then write a chapter for the other one. It'll just make it easier, yah know?**

**I like Sabo. A lot. :) He's so awesome! I also think that it's so funny that almost every One Piece fangirl has fallen in love with Sabo! XD I mean, how can I blame them? He's super cool! :3 **

**I'm an artist, so like many artists living in these modern age of mine, I want to know how to draw online! Yah know, with a tablet and stuff? I've actually been drawing with a mouse online since I was REALLY young, but I've just never learned how to draw with a tablet. I tried today! :) It's sorta hard... :( But, I'm sure that, in time, it'll be easy. (I'm comin' for yah Photoshop! ;D) **

**All right, I'm done! Get on reading, all ready! :D**

**DISCLAIMER: Oda owns all the characters in here.**

* * *

Sunlight filtered through a small hole in the wooden walls and straight onto Luffy's closed eyes. He scrunched his face up and blinked his eyes open. Sitting up, he stretched before running out of his foster mother's hut. "Oi! Luffy!" Luffy turned around to see his foster mother's tired face scowling at him, "What the hell are you doing awake? Everyone's still asleep, you brat!" Dadan, or Curly Dadan, was a very large woman-in height and in weight-with orange, curly hair that went down to her back. In her teeth was a pipe with smoking rising from the bowl of it.

Luffy ignored her and looked around the clearing. "Hey, Dadan? Do you know where Ace is? I can't seem to find him..."

Dadan hesitated. "Well, Luffy... He left a few hours ago..."

"H-he did?" Luffy paused. "Why's that? He left without me? That's not what older brothers do...!"

"No, Luffy..." Dadan shook her head. "He decided to leave the Dadan Family and go back to the place he was born."

Luffy stopped. "A-Ace did?"

"Yes, Luffy..." Dadan nodded.

Tears streamed down Luffy's cheeks. "B-but, if Ace is gone, then I have no one, Dadan! I'm all alone, now...! There were still so many things I wanted to do with him before he left!"

"Luffy!" Dadan called to him, a soft frown on her face, "You know that this was going to happen soon, or at least someday. And you do know that you'll have to leave here someday, too! Maybe when you leave, you can go find him again?"

Luffy stopped crying. "H-hey! You're right!" He ran up to Dadan and grabbed her shoulders. "That's what I'm going to do, then! I'm going to go find Ace! I'll go on my own adventures, and I'll outdo him, for sure!" Luffy laughed maliciously, grabbed his spear, and ran off into the forest.

Dadan didn't move. She suddenly noticed what he meant. "W-wait! Luffy! You can't leave, yet! There are so many things that will hurt you out there!"

Two men peeked out from the hut. One was a small, pale, angry-faced man, who was a man named Dogra, and the other was a tall, tan man with a haircut that resembled a rooster's comb and wattle for a beard, Magra. "But, Dadan," Magra began, "Luffy has been out in the jungle since they were very small. He can take care of himself, right?"

"Besides, you're always talking about how you can't wait until they leave!" Dogra chimed in.

"_No!_ That's not what I meant!" Dadan barked. She turned back to where Luffy disappeared. "There are things about him that he'll only find out if he ventures too far... If he finds out that fact, his entire world will be changed."

Dogra and Magra looked at each other. "For better or for worse?"

Dadan sighed. "I'm not sure..."

**_Deiterra_**

"Dragon-_dono_!" called out a minor god. He raced into the palace where the great King of the Gods stood in front of his window. The minor god halted. Dragon stood in front of the tall window, white light shining into the dark room. "D-Dragon-_dono_?"

"What is it?" he asked in a low, irritated tone.

"A-are you all right, Dragon-_dono_?"

"Is that what you came in here for?" Dragon growled as he slightly turned his head far enough to see his gritted, white teeth.

"Ah! N-no, your majesty!" the minor god insisted as he bowed for forgiveness. "It's about the Blue, sire!"

Dragon hesitated and turned back to the window. He sighed and muttered to the minor god, "Oh... So he still hasn't found us? That's a shame... What is wrong with the human world, then?"

"Sire, I think that it's time to bring him back by force... You see," the minor god took a gulp, "there's a new leader of the Human World, sire..."

Dragon stopped. He turned around to look at him with a look of interest. "A leader of the Blue or the Human World?"

"The entire world, sire!"

"Interesting..." He turned and grabbed an orb that looked like a miniature version of the Earth. The King of the Gods began fiddling with it and moving clouds around. "Tell me about this leader, then, Minor."

"He's... He's got a new law." The minor god unrolled a long scroll and read it aloud, "I, the new ruler of the Human World, hereby decree that no longer shall any man, woman, or child follow the Law of the Gods. With the changing forces of the world, our former creators have made it obvious that they have denied us. We shall slay every monster, man, or god that causes any slight kind of annoyance. We elect chosen men to collect groups of fine soldiers to help them defeat the gods that are killing our citizens. The gods have failed us, thus we must no longer look up to them. It is time that we stop waiting for the light to come. In our dark world, we shall make a lantern. No longer shall we rely on our gods, it is time we make our own gods."

Dragon stood in silence. He hung his head. "I see..." he muttered. Dragon quickly turned to the minor god and pointed at him. "Minor, we must bring back the trust! Go! Send _him_ to find my son. It is time that Joy returns to our people!"

* * *

Luffy munched on the meat of a fish that he had caught for himself. He stared out at the river that flowed below him. The black-haired teenager sat in silence by himself on a tree that had fallen down above the river.

He finished his breakfast just as quickly as he caught it. Rising to his feet, the young teenager looked around him to find himself all alone. His heart felt empty and sad as he looked around him, feeling desperate for a person to talk to. Suddenly, he realized who he could talk to. "Zoro!" Luffy whispered to himself. Turning around, he ran off the tree and through the forest.

Finally, he came to the edge of the trees and looked out at the small village in front of him. He took a deep breath. Luffy had never entered a village without trying to hide himself before. Gathering up his courage again, he stepped down onto the dirt road. He looked up at the people walking and talking to each other, trading food, buying clothes and other supplies, and acting so friendly to complete strangers. Luffy walked through the crowd, feeling strange to be so close to them as if he was one of them.

Suddenly, he bumped into a young woman, accidentally knocking a basket full of oranges onto the dirt. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" she growled.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Luffy apologized, crouching down to help her gather up her oranges again. When he looked up at her, he saw that she had long, orange hair, pale skin, and dark, brown eyes. He suddenly felt a feeling of nostalgia as he looked at her. "Um... Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked her.

She looked up at him in confusion. "Huh? No, I don't think so... I certainly haven't ever seen you before!" The young woman rose to her feet again, struggling to pick up the basket.

"D-do you need help?" Luffy suddenly said.

"What? Uh, no! I can take care of myself, thank you!" she replied as she began to stagger away.

Luffy ran up to her and took the basket from her hands. "No, I think that you look like you need my help," he told her. The young woman stared in shock that he held the heavy basket of oranges so easily. "Now, where were you headed?"

"Hey!" she snapped, trying to get her basket back from the strange feral-looking young man. "Those aren't yours, you thief! Give them back to me!"

"I'm not going to take them, you know," Luffy said calmly, not moving an inch as she bore her heels into the dirt, pulling at the basket with all of her might. "I'm just trying to help you."

"But I don't need your help!"

Luffy frowned and pushed the basket into her hands. "Fine, then! If you're going to be stubborn, then can you at least tell me where a friend of mine is?"

The young woman frowned and looked away. "I'm not going to tell strange men whom I've just met and whom also just tried to steal my precious oranges where someone is! I don't even know your name!"

"Luffy." The young woman blinked when she heard him answer in a low, serious voice. She turned to him to see the black-haired teenager putting out his hand for a handshake. "My name is Luffy and I'm looking for a friend of mine. So, please, help me!"

She frowned before grabbing his hand. "Nami. I'm Nami, I work at the Orange Cafe... What's the name of your friend, _Luffy_?"

"Zoro, Roronoa Zoro. Have you seen him?"

Nami blinked in shock. "Oh! You know Zoro? Yeah, I can take you to him. He's always in my cafe drinking alcohol, and drinking too much of it, if you ask me! If you're here for him, I sure do hope you're here to fix that grump!"

Luffy laughed. "I'll see what I can do!"

_**The Orange Cafe**_

A man sat at a table in the small cafe. He grabbed the cup on the table and took a sip of the tea within it. When he put it down, he brushed away the wavy, blonde hair that fell in his eyes. He wore fancy, black fur coats and looked very proper. Sanji watched the rich-looking costumer from within the kitchen. His friend, Usopp, stood next to him. "Oi, Usopp," Sanji whispered, "You see that guy?"

"Yeah, how can I not see him! He looks richer than the leader of this village!" Usopp whispered back.

"Do _not _let us loose him. He's gotta be a good-paying costumer, for sure!" Sanji ordered, "Go ask him what he wants to eat, Usopp!"

"Eh! Why me? I don't even work here!" Usopp snapped to his friend.

"Who cares! This is for my sweet Nami-_swan_! I'm going to let her have as much money as I can get! Then maybe she'll accept my love!" Sanji said, "Now, go! Go, man, go!"

Usopp muttered something under his breath and walked up to the blonde-haired man. He looked at him with his large, wide eyes. "Good morning, sir," Usopp sighed, "What would you like to order?"

He smiled warmly at him. "Oh, I'm fine for now. Thank you very much for asking, though!" With that, he looked back down at a seashell that he held in his hands.

Usopp gulped. The man gave off a strange aura that he had never felt before. "Are you sure, sir? Would you like to see our specials today?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure!" he replied, "I'm really not here to eat, see. I'm looking for someone, see."

Usopp blinked. "Y-you are?" The Orange Cafe seemed, to him, like a strange place to look for someone.

"Yes, I am," he nodded. "I heard that he was going to come stopping by here. He's a nice man, you see, he makes us all happy. I haven't seen him in a very long time. He's someone who went missing a while ago and who never came back." He sighed and fiddled with the seashell more. "You see, since times are changing, we've decided that... it's time that he comes back to us!" Looking up at Usopp, he smirked a wide, toothy smirk.

Usopp stared down at him with wide eyes. Quickly, he ran back around the counter and into the kitchen. "Sanji!" Usopp hissed to him, "I don't care if that guy's rich or not! He gives me the creeps...!"

"No, Usopp! You've gotta-" Sanji was interrupted when he saw Nami walk back into the cafe. "N-N-N-N-Nami-_swan_~!" Sanji screamed joyful, almost floating out of the window in the kitchen that looked out onto the rest of the cafe. Suddenly, Luffy entered the cafe close behind Nami; in his hands he held Nami's heavy basket of oranges. When Sanji saw the young man, he almost literally deflated.

"Nami-_swan_! Who is this man?" Sanji asked her, tears streaming down his face.

"He's Luffy. He said that he's looking for a friend of his," Nami answered.

Sanji scowled at the young black-haired man. "_I shall not lose!_" he snapped.

"Lose what?" Luffy asked, blinking in confusion. The blonde-haired man in the back of the room looked up at him when he heard Luffy's voice. "What game are we playing? Is it fun? Is it a board game? Is it hand-to-hand combat? Am I currently winning? If not, who is? Who are you? Is this your cafe, Nami? Where's my friend? Is he here? Are we still playing the game-"

"Hey! Don't you act all naive with me, kid!" Sanji growled, "I know your plot! You're planning to win my sweet Nami's heart, capture her, and then live with such a beautiful goddess in the deepest, darkest canyons known to man so that no one shall find you, not even light _itself_!"

Not only Luffy and Nami, but also everyone in the entire cafe blinked in confusion at Sanji's sentence. "What?"

The blonde-haired man rose out of his seat and walked towards the door. Nami's eyes widened at the proper-looking man. "Sanji!" Nami whispered to her cook. "Who the hell is that rich-looking guy?"

"I don't know, my sweet Nami-_swan_~!"

"Sanji! Be real for a second!" Nami barked. "Why is a _rich-looking _guy leaving _my _cafe?"

Sanji bulged his eyes. "Um... Well, we tried to make him stay longer, but he just insisted that he wasn't here to eat anything!" Suddenly, the blonde-haired man stopped in front of them. Sanji jumped for a second at the tall man in front of him.

"Excuse me," he said.

"Y-yes, sir? Is there something that you'd like?" Sanji asked quickly.

"Uh... no. It's just that you're blocking the doorway," the blonde-haired man replied.

Sanji took his chance, "Oh! But are you _sure _that you don't want anything else, sir? Fancy-looking blonde men eat free on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, _and _Sundays!"

"Sanji-_kun_!" Nami snapped, "Free? Really!"

"Um... I mean-" But he wasn't able to finish. The blonde-haired man pushed past them and walked out the door.

Before he fully exited, he stopped next to Luffy. Slowly turning his head towards him, he smirked at the young teenager's face. Luffy cringed at the large, deep scar that stretched across his left eye. "Hello there," The man said softly, "Long time no see, kid!" He leaned toward him and whispered in his ear, "We sure have missed you, _Luffy_."

Luffy jumped when he heard him say his name. "How do you-" Before he could ask him, the blonde-haired man vanished in the bustling crowd of people.

"Luffy? You wanted to see Zoro, right?" Nami asked him. Luffy turned back around slowly to her and nodded his head. "Well, the grump your looking for is right over there." Nami pointed to the bar where Zoro sat drinking a cup full of alcohol.

"Zoro~!" Luffy exclaimed. He ran up to him, sat beside him, and wrapped a strong arm around Zoro's neck. "It's been a while, huh, buddy? I missed yah!"

"Luffy...! You're strangling me, you bastard...! Let go of me...!" Zoro wheezed.

The young teenager laughed and untangled his rubber-like arm from around Zoro's neck. "Haha! Sorry 'bout that, bud! So, whatcha been doin' while I was gone? Goin' on adventures? Hunting down yetis and sea serpents? Eatin' a bunch of meat with a pack of wild wolves?"

"Drinking," Zoro answered.

Luffy stopped. He was paralyzed. "E-eh?" he stuttered. "Holy shit, Zoro! Your life is so friggin' _boring_! How do you even _survive_? I wouldn't be able to live in such a crappy world... Especially since the world is such a hellhole in the first place...!"

"Tell me about it..." Zoro sighed.

"Wow! You guys really are pessimistic," muttered an irritated voice beside them.

Luffy looked up to see a funny-looking young man with dark skin, black curly hair, and a strange, long nose. It was Usopp. "Hey!" Luffy barked, "How could you call _me _pessimistic? I'm the most optimistic person _alive_!"

"He's right. He is the most optimistic person alive," Zoro nodded.

"I'm just saying that you were being pessimistic because you were talking down about the world and life!" Usopp defended.

"I wasn't talking down about life! I was just talking down about the world! Have you _seen _the creepy monsters of the forests, Mr. Blind!" Luffy snapped, "I love Life! I feel like... I feel like... I feel like I _am _Life!"

Everyone stared at Luffy in impatience. "Luffy," Zoro said softly as he put his hand on Luffy's shoulder, "Calm down, buddy. Here, have a drink. It'll make you feel better."

"Thanks, man. You know what, Zoro? You're actually really cool!" Luffy smiled as he grabbed the glass that Zoro was handing him.

"Really? That's a first!"

Suddenly, screams of terror came from outside of the cafe. Everyone rose to their feet and ran outside, Luffy following close behind in sheer excitement and curiosity, although the other costumers in the cafe hid under tables and chairs. When they exited the cafe, Luffy saw an enormous man, whom looked like a fish hybrid. He had blue skin and a long saw-shaped nose. His hair was black and long, falling down his back. A large fin stuck out from his back, and a sun-shaped tattoo was on his heart. In his large, blue hand, he held a deeply scarred man, blood dripping down the man's neck.

"Arlong!" Nami gasped. "What are you doing to him?" She ran up to him and tried to pull Arlong's hand free from clutching the scarred man. Luffy stared in silence, simply watching.

"Nami...! Run...!" wheezed the scarred man.

"No, Genzo! You're hurt! I've got to help you!" Nami barked, tears beginning falling down from her eyes. She turned to Arlong and growled, "Arlong! Stop! I have the money that you wanted, so please! Just help let him go! He is innocent! He didn't do anything to you!"

"No, Nami," Arlong smirked, "Your money is gone."

Nami stopped. It felt like her heart stopped. "Wha... What did you say...?"

"An elite warrior from the Council of World Leaders came by and took it."

"What! How could they do that? I earned that money! _I did! _They don't have the right to take it from me!" Nami snapped, "You're bluffing, Arlong! That's a lie just to make me stay in your group!"

Arlong bent down and growled in her ear, "Do I _look _like I'm bluffing?" Nami stepped a footstep away. "The majority of that money was collected before you owned this cafe of yours, right? Most of it was stolen. The World Leaders ordered that all stolen money shall be collected and given to the countries of the world. Unfortunately, they couldn't determine what was stolen and what was earned, so they just decided to take it all."

Nami gasped and backed away from him. Sanji gritted his teeth together and screamed, "You bastard! How dare you do that to her? She's innocent! You have no right, in any situation, to be so cruel to such a beautiful and kind lady!"

"Oh, shut the hell up, puny human!" Arlong growled. The fishman turned to his warriors and ordered, "Kill them all."

As everyone was busy trying to defend themselves from the attacking fishmen, Luffy watched as Arlong walk off to the jungle. Before he disappeared, he threw Genzo roughly down to the grass at the edge of the trees. When Arlong was completely gone, the fishmen quickly followed him. Luffy stood in the crowd of injured people. He didn't move a single muscle; he just stood. Finally, the black-haired teenager looked over to see Nami kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down her face. Luffy felt his eye twitched. He barely even knew her, but, for some reason, he knew exactly what he needed to do.

"Damn it! That bastard...!" Sanji growled, "Don't worry, Nami-_san_! I'll put that shitty fishman back in his place!"

"No."

"Eh? What was that?" Sanji turned around to try and confront the man who had said that.

"Move aside," Luffy said. Sanji suddenly felt a hand push his side. The unexpected force made him accidentally fall to the ground. Luffy walked in front of Nami and stood firm and strong, cracking his knuckles. "This is _my _fight! Watch out, 'Arlong', because I'm comin' to kick your ass!"

* * *

**MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Exciting, huh? I _know_! :D **

**Sorry that this one was so long, guys! It must have taken a while, huh? :) Sorry if you don't like long fanfictions, but I'm interested in showing a certain amount of things in one chapter, but, unfortunately, those things are long. **

**How did Dadan know that Luffy was a god? Who is Dragon sending to 'find' Luffy? ****Who is the blonde-haired man? What was the purpose of the seashell that he was holding in his hand? ****What happens when a mortal goes into Deiterra? ****Will Luffy beat Arlong (c'mon, we all know that answer, don't we)? Is Luffy rubber in here? Will these questions be answered in the next chapter? (Answer: Most of them.)**

**Thanks for reading! Bye bye, y'all~! ;3**


	4. The Fight

**Hellooo~! :D**

**Welcome to Chapter 4 of _Can You Remember?_! I'm so excited for this chapter, so I'm not going to make this too long.**

**Now, I know that I should be writing my book right now... but I can't help myself! I just love this story so much! I think I'll finish this one and then go write it. (I have a few more years left, right?)**

**School is almost over~! :D Can't wait...! Not that I don't like school or anything, it's just so tiring... Last year, truthfully, was better. My school has agreed that we're going to make it much better next year. _Much _better! ;) The students are gonna make sure of that!**

***sobs* There was a hiatus this week! :,( What are we, Sabo fangirls, going to do! SABOOOOO! WE MISS YOU! I can't wait to see more of him! I think that he may be my second favorite character, Luffy being the first. Sabo would be my favorite character, but Luffy has done too much for me! I can't leave him behind. :) Sabo might have blown my mind, but Luffy has made me a better person! :) I won't ever forget what our rubbery friend has done for me. :)**

**Look! Yonder! It's _beginning_!**

* * *

Luffy ran through the dark forest, his eyes full of determination and rage. There was no way that he would ever let a person be so cruel to a person, no matter who they are. Especially since Luffy felt as if he and Nami were friends, and had been friends for a long time.

Strength flowed through his veins. It was an immense power that he had possessed for as long as he was able to remember. His god-like power was what had kept he and his brother alive for all of their lives. Without it, he would have been long gone by now. Luffy sprang over trees and bushes, up cliffs, over rivers, until he finally arrived at a large, dark building where all of the fishmen stood.

The fishmen turned to him and narrowed their eyes at him in anger. Arlong stepped forward and bellowed, "Who are you, puny human?"

"Where is the man they call 'Arlong'?" Luffy asked in a low, serious tone.

"That would be me," Arlong replied with a raise of his eyebrow. He was confused with the young teenager's motives.

Suddenly, a great force pounded against his gut, sending him flying against the wood of the building, collapsing onto the grass. "I've come," Luffy growled as he straightened up again, "to kick your ass!" He threw his head up and glared daggers straight into every single one of the fishmen's pupils.

Arlong coughed and sat up, wiping his chin with a smirk. "So you have, eh?" Arlong challenged, "And what makes you think that you can act so superior to me, human? You're nothing but a lowly land animal!"

"I'm not lowly, Arlong," Luffy growled, "And neither are those people back in that village! You have no right to treat them that way!"

"I have ever right to!" Arlong roared as he rose to his large feet, "For we are the fishmen, the humans that were given gills by the Gods themselves! Now, what do you humans have? A pair of legs and what else?"

Luffy's fist came pounding back into Arlong's stomach again from far away, making him cough but not fall. "Two fists," Luffy roared, "And they're enough to beat you into the ground!"

Arlong whipped his head up and screamed, "I'll never lose to someone like _you_, human!" Arlong sprang towards Luffy, throwing punches at him, but Luffy managed to dodge every single one of them. The fishman gritted his teeth, throwing down his head and, finally, gripping Luffy's shoulder with his long, sharp jaws. Luffy screamed in pain, grabbing Arlong's long, saw-like nose and trying his best to push him away from his shoulder.

Finally, all of the villagers made it to the building. They watched from within the shadows of trees, cheering on their hero. Nami clenched her fist together, hoping that Luffy would win the fight against the fishman that had been imprisoning her ever since he killed her mother, Bellemere. After he killed her, Arlong realized that Nami had a knack for finding her way around, on boat or land. Her sense of direction was better than anyone else's in the entire world; besides that, she was wonderful at drawing maps of islands and continents that she saw. Arlong had hoped to take over the world with her on his side. Nami gulped as she watched Luffy. There was only one way to be free.

Luffy finally snapped Arlong's nose sideways, making him cringe in pain. He flew away from Luffy before he could do anymore damage. Arlong grabbed his nose and straightened it back to the way it had been before. "You'd better give up, human! It's impossible for a human to win against a fishman, like myself!"

"Nothing's impossible," Luffy replied, "Nothing."

Arlong burst out laughing, "Proud, are we? Arrogance will win you nothing, human! That's how humans are: arrogant, proud, and cruel. They care about nothing else but wanting power. They're all the same. It's inevitable!"

Luffy's head flew up, rage boiling from his face. "_I've had enough of your talk!_" Luffy roared. He crouched down, and put his hand backwards. The entire crowd screamed at the sight they saw: his arm was stretching. Suddenly finding enough power, it whipped forward again, striking Arlong directly in the face. He sped back into the tall building.

Luffy ran up to the house and sprang to the story that Arlong had fallen into. He looked around the room. It was dark, silent, and-seemingly-empty. Luffy turned to a mirror that leaned against the wall. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. Suddenly, he saw a shadow looming in from behind him in the image. Luffy turned around to see Arlong holding and enormous, spiked axe. He threw it toward him, only to have Luffy grab it within his palms. "Die!" Arlong yelled toward the black-haired teenager.

Releasing the weapon, he did a back-flip and flew out onto the short roof. Arlong's battleaxe ripped through the wall, sending debris and pieces of wood everywhere. Luffy tumbled off of the roof from the impact, only to catch himself again on the roof above the former one. He zoomed up to the next story, only to have Arlong sending his axe onto the next roof as well. They jumped up the many stories until they finally reached the top floor.

Nami stopped. It was her room.

Luffy fell to his feet when he entered the quiet, dark room. It was full of papers, books, and writing utensils. "What is this place?" Luffy asked.

"This is a human girl's room. If you're from that village, you may have heard of her: Nami's her name. She's been living here ever since her mother died," Arlong replied, "I keep her in here. In this room, she creates all of the maps of the lands that I have conquered. She really is something special. You see, I can't give her away so easily, nor can I let go of my throne. I'm in charge here, no one else."

Luffy scowled and turned back to his opponent. "So this is where you've been trapping my friend, huh?" he hissed as he gritted his teeth.

Arlong smirked. "Oh! So you know Nami, hmm? She's quite something, isn't she? She's unlike any of the other humans I've ever met before! I really do like her," Arlong held up his weapon, "which is exactly why I'm going to keep her and the rest of this land!"

The young, black-haired man glowered in rage at the fishman. "And what gives you the right to do all of this?"

"I've got to be on top! Everyone else doing this sort of thing shall bow down to my supreme power! I'll be like a god to the people of the Blue! You'll see, puny human! I'll be better than any other thief, pirate, or murderer out there!" Arlong announced.

Luffy stopped. "Wait... So, there are other people in the world doing this sort of thing?"

Arlong looked down at him in confusion. "Where have you been living for the past decade? A hole? Ever since the God of Life disappeared, there is no Natural Law supporting 'moral thought' so, now, all of the humans and other creatures have found the courage in their tainted hearts to disturb the ugly peace! There are people fighting for the throne of the world, you see. Someone's going to get it, and I'm going to be that person, and there's nothing that a pathetic little human like _you _can do about that!"

Luffy still had no idea what in the world he was talking about, but he suddenly realized that the world had lost something much more important that a brother, even though the feeling that he was feeling hurt more than anything. The world had lost their Joy. There was something missing in the world that mattered much more to Luffy than any brother. Ace was alive after all. For some strange reason, Luffy felt like he had something to do with it. It was his fault. If anyone was going to do something about it, it would need to be him.

Luffy threw his head into the air and scored Arlong's face. "I don't think," Luffy snarled as debris flew all around him, "that you know _who the hell I am!_" Luffy's roar shook the entire room, making books fall from their shelves and the chairs and desks vibrate out of place.

"Oh, yeah?" Arlong challenged as he arose to his feet again, "If you think you're so great, show me your power, then!" The black-haired teenager turned around and shot at the shelves of books and papers. Arlong stopped. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Luffy ignored him. He kicked apart the desk and chair. Arlong watched in mortified shock as Luffy destroyed all of the things that Nami had made for him, the things that brought him closer to being on top of the world. "Hey, you shitty brat! Stop it!" Luffy continued to destroy the room. "I said stop! Do you want me to _make _you stop?"

"Lastly," Luffy said to himself, throwing his foot high into the air and through the ceiling.

"I've had enough with you!" Arlong roared, "I'm going to kill you!" Arlong flew towards Luffy, his huge jaws open, attempting to bite Luffy in two. Luffy threw down his leg as quickly as he could, hoping to stop Arlong's attack, as well. Suddenly, Luffy slammed down his foot straight onto Arlong's head.

The people outside watched in awe as the foot coming from the top of the building disappeared. Nami gasped when the floors suddenly began to collapse and crumble on top of each other. "L-Luffy!" she cried. Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, the mysterious blonde-haired man, and the rest of the villagers screamed out their hero's name as the entire building fell in on itself.

Debris tumbled and rolled all across the clearing, every single fishman running for their lives. Finally, silence fell of the area. Hearts thumped and sweat rolled down the faces of the people in the crowd, waiting for their hero to rise from the rubble. Nami gasped when she saw Luffy's figure stand up. The entire clearing screamed in joy, but Luffy breathed heavily in his own silence. "_Nami!_" Luffy called out, "You're safe now!"

Tears fell from her eyes as she cried out. She remembered the night that she had met the boy named Luffy at the God of Life's ceremony. It was the night that she met a friend, the night everything changed, and the night that the entire world changed forever.

The mysterious blonde-haired man that had been standing tall and silent in the back stood with a proud smile on his face. He turned away from the crowd and began to walk away through the jungle. Lifting up the seashell that he had been holding in his hand, he pressed the apex of the shell and said into it, "It has begun."

_"Ah...! Excellent," _a low voice replied from the seashell. _"Shall we send my father now?"_

"I believe so. He is slowly beginning to discover his feelings for the humans," the blonde-haired man replied. "It really is nice to see him again. I haven't seen him for a while. The last time I saw him was when I got lost in the forest."

_"Indeed. Was that not the day that we first met as well?" _

He smiled. "It was!" He shook his head, "Ah, I'm so sorry, sir! I got myself distracted again. Yes, Luffy is discovering his feelings slowly. It would be best if he had a 'tutor'."

_"I agree," _the voice said.

"And yet..."

_"You have doubts?"_

"Yes, sir," the blonde-haired man nodded reluctantly, "It's just that... your father, sir, he is... not the nicest man in the world. If I had someone to teach me, I wouldn't want a man such as your father to help me."

_"Does he frighten you?"_

"To tell you the truth, sir? Yes. Yes, he does frighten me."

The voice on the other end of the shell-phone burst out laughing. _"I cannot say that I disagree with you. My father is, at times, a bit strict. But, he is strong and knows our ways well. He will lead him in the right direction."_

"I understand, your majesty," he nodded.

_"Oh! And," _the voice added, _"I've been meaning to ask of a favor from you."_

"Anything, sire!"

_"You have heard of the new World Leaders, no? Well, I would like a bit more insight on their plans and why they would want to get rid of the Gods. If it is not too much trouble, I would like it if you went undercover to find out as much about these men as possible," _the voice ordered, _"Will you do that for me, Sabo?"_

Sabo smiled. "I won't let you down, King Dragon!"

_"Excellent! I'll send Koala and Hack to you. You will get started on your mission straight away. That is all, Sabo. Good-bye!"_

Sabo grinned as he clicked the apex of the shell again, putting the seashell into his jacket pocket. "I hope you enjoy your grandfather, Luffy! Let's hope that he won't hurt you too much."

* * *

"No, seriously," Nami told Luffy, "I don't know what I can do to say thank you!"

Luffy smiled. "You don't have to thank me, you know!"

"But I want to!" Nami said, "I wouldn't be able to live another day if I didn't pay you back. I... thank you very much for all that you've done for me, Luffy! If there's anything that you need, or want-anything at all-just tell me!"

Luffy laughed, "Something I _want_?" Luffy looked away and replied quietly, "I don't want things, Nami." He turned back to her to see her face down as she bit her lip. He sighed in defeat. Luffy could see that she desperately wanted to repay him. But how? Suddenly, he got an idea. "Oh, but there is _one _thing that I do need, actually!"

Nami's face lit up at his words. "Really! Let me help you with it!"

"Are you sure that you're up for it, Nami? It's a pretty hefty offer, you know," Luffy warned.

"All I care about is repaying my savior," Nami replied, "Besides, it's not like it'll be anything life-threatening, right? No one except for psychos ask people to do dangerous things nowadays!"

Luffy smirked. "Really? Well, after seeing what Arlong has been doing, I wanted to help other people with problems just like yours! It first started as an expedition to try and find my brother again, but now it's turned into a quest to reclaim the... Joy, I suppose you could call it!"

"So, what do you need?"

Luffy walked up to her, looked around, and then whispered to her, "I'm not really one to do things alone. I like company. Will you join me on my journey?"

Nami stopped. "Y-your journey?"

"Yep!"

"To kill all of the bad people hurting the world?"

"Yep!" Luffy smiled at Nami for a while, her face pale. He blinked and then asked, "Um... You all right, Nami?"

She looked down and stuttered, "I-is there some... other job that you could make me do? I'm... I'm not a fighter, you see."

Luffy stood in silence. "Oh... Well, no. The only thing I need is to have someone come along with me to hunt down those guys. That's sort of the reason why I came looking for Zoro. But, it would be very helpful if you did come along with me, Nami! Like I said, though, you don't have to repay me. I'm really not used to that kind of stuff, anyways." He smiled as he started to walk away, Zoro walking up to his side.

"W-wait!" Nami called out. Luffy stopped and turned back to her. "I'll come! I'll come with you!"

Luffy grinned in happiness, but also shock. "Really! That's great! C'mon, then!"

"Hold on!" Sanji and Usopp ran up to them. Sanji announced, "If my sweet Nami-_swan _is going, I'm comin', too! I'm not going to let you idiots take my love away from me! Nami-_swan _is _mine_! You got that? Mine!"

Luffy burst out laughing. "I'm not trying to take her from you, man! Calm down!"

Sanji frowned at Luffy and danced up to Nami, singing, "Nami-_swan_~! I'm here for you, my love~!"

"That's great, Sanji-_kun_..." Nami muttered as Sanji danced around her with his arms flying all over the place.

Luffy grinned an excited, determined grin and announced, "Well, then! Shall we get going, then? We've got a lot of ground to cover, you know!"

"Oh yeah?" Zoro said, "You got any idea where we're going, then?"

"Nope! Not a clue!" Luffy replied, "But that makes this journey all the more exciting, doesn't it?" He turned to the newcomers and introduced, "My name is Luffy! Just because I'm a nice guy, don't you go thinking that I'll slow down for all of you! When you're with me, every man for himself, all right? Right!" He whipped around in determination. "Let's go!"

* * *

_**Happy Easter!**_

**If you guys have made it here after I changed the name, how'd you like it? C'est bon? I didn't really prefer the part with Arlong, though... I tried to make it all right! I tried my best... I feel like that was a bit too rushed, don't you? Oh well... I found that it was difficult to do the Arlong fight because the original one was a battle for Nami, the winner being the one to keep her. It was a fight for Friendship! Luffy in here didn't know her, so I wasn't as pleased as I was with the one Oda gave us. It was so much sweeter in the manga. (But that's because the manga was written by a genius!)**

**Sabo's pretty cool, huh? Ba ba baaaa! How does he know Dragon, hmm? Don't worry, I'll tell you... _soon_! I can't tell you, yet! It'd just spoil it! ;)**

**Well! This was fun! See you next time! :) Happy Easter! Have a good holiday! :D**


	5. My Heavenly Grandpa

**Long time no see, y'all~! **

**I was going to publish sooner, but my friend was telling me to do the next Serendipity chapter because she loves what happens in Chapter 11/10.5 a lot, so I finished up that chapter.**

**This week was so chaotic! And not pleasing, I must say... (Save for today~! I liked today! :D) So, first things first, at my school, I and a few other people were chosen to be in the sort of "Student Council" and I got paired with this popular kid (he's nice an all, but I've barely talked to him for the two years that we've known each other). So, the thing up with my school's "Student Council" is that we're paired into groups sort of like the families in Hogwarts, and each family/group gets two students from the highest grade (me). Since our school is only 2 years old, this is the "first" time we're doing this, so we're _making _these groups. It's fun and all, just... I don't know the boy I'm paired up with...! He's nice, though, so I shouldn't complain. :)**

**I've been so unlucky this week... 1) Chapter 746 didn't come out! 2) I got a bad grade in History class 3) I didn't get a fortune in my fortune cookie! I know it's stupid, but... _What does it mean?!_ (Meh...! Why am I listening to such a sad-sounding song right now!? It's such a good song...! It's called _People Help The People_ by Birdy.)**

**So, yeah... That's been my week. :I Hopefully, it'll get better.**

**Could you guys tell me if you want LuNa in here? Just tell me if you don't want any LuNa in here! I'll be fine if you say 'no'! :)**

**All right! I'm done with my long rant! Let's get on to this chapter! Enjoy, my lovely, amazing fans~! :3**

* * *

A fire crackled in the fire-pit that they had created. Nami frowned at Luffy as she rubbed her arms due to the cold. Luffy had a thin rib-bone sticking out from his lips. He was leaning on a tree behind him as he sat on a boulder with his hands on the back of his head in a relaxed position.

Sanji poked at the fire as he ever so often flipped a piece of steak over on a pan that was over the fire. Usopp was tinkering with a slingshot that he was making. Zoro sat beside Luffy, cleaning his glittering swords.

"Luffy?" Nami called to him. Luffy opened one eye and smiled at her as if telling her to say what she wanted to say. "Do you have any idea where we're going?"

"Nope! Not a clue!" Luffy grinned.

Nami face-palmed. "News flash: You've got to have a plan before you do something, genius..."

Luffy gasped and sat up. "Y-you called me 'genius'! You're so nice! You shouldn't have~!" Luffy giggled. Nami rolled her eyes. "But, Nami, I know that I want to head out North. Whenever I step anywhere near that Deiterra place, I get the chills! I don't want to go South."

"Well, that's a start," Nami replied. "Is there anything in particular you're trying to find?"

Luffy began to drool, ignoring Nami's question. He stared straight at the steak that Sanji was cooking. "Ooh~! Sanji~! That meat looks _particularly _delicious~!"

"If you're thinking of eating, get lost," Sanji growled.

"Eh?! But it's ready!" Luffy exclaimed, "Everyone knows that meat tastes better raw!" Everyone scowled in disgust and shook their heads in disagreement. "Oh, you guys are just grossed out by how many diseases are in them!"

"I'm not only grossed out by that, Luffy!" Zoro said.

"I... I don't get it," Luffy said as he turned to Zoro. Suddenly, Luffy raised his head toward the woods. Confusion marked his face. "What the hell...?" he whispered.

Zoro raised an eyebrow and turned around. He stared off into the woods before looking back up at Luffy. "What is it, Lu- Luffy? Where are you going?" Zoro asked as Luffy suddenly began to walk off into the woods.

Zoro was about to follow him when Luffy put out a hand and said softly, "Don't follow me." He stopped and watched as Luffy disappeared into the shadows of the trees. Luffy's bare feet crunched against the pine leaves on the grass as he walked further and further into the woods. Suddenly, the earth began to vibrate under the soles of his feet. His head whipped back and forth as the leaves, bushes, and trees began to shake. Luffy looked back at the small dots of his friends a distance away. They didn't seem to notice anything. "What the hell-"

"_BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You haven't changed, my boy!_" a deep, booming voice echoed throughout the clearing. A muscled man suddenly began to fade into view. Luffy gasped at the strangely familiar sight. He wore fancy attire and a bright, happy smile. His hair was gray and he had a scar about his left eye. " We've missed yah, kid! How yah been?"

Luffy's eyes widened in shock. "Who the hell are you!" he exclaimed.

"Well, well, well! You just want to skip to the introductions? Guess that's best, I suppose," he sighed, "Even if may be boring. I'm Monkey D. Garp, the God of Strength! I'm also the father of the King of the Gods! So, everyone could really just call me Grampy~! I give all of my little grandchildren strength! The strength they need to survive in this dangerous world! And you, Luffy, you are my son's child! You are the Prince of the Gods!"

Luffy blinked. "Look... I usually believe everything I'm told, but there is no _way_ in _hell _that I'm believing that."

"Aw, no! You've gotta, boy!" Garp insisted, "One, it's fun to think about, yah know~! And two, because it's true!"

"OK... Number One was an _opinion_, and Number Two could have been a flat-out lie," Luffy said.

"No, no, no! It isn't! Do you really think that an old grandpa that made the whole earth shake only to you, fading into your sight laughing like a crazed maniac would lie to you, saying that he's the God of Strength, your grandpa, and that you're the Prince of the Gods?" Garp said.

"Uh... _Yeah_!" Luffy nodded.

"O-oh... Not convinced still?"

"What do you think, my '_Heavenly Grandpa_'?" Luffy snorted.

"I'm right in front of you! How can you still not believe me?" Garp snapped. He tapped a nearby tree, making it snap in half and fall to the ground. "Did you see that? There's no way that an ordinary human could have done that! Now do you believe me?"

"Look, I never said that I didn't think that you were a god," Luffy replied, "I just don't believe that I'm the Prince of the Gods."

"You don't, hmm?" Garp said. He scratched his beard and thought for a little while. "How can I make you believe me? Oh! How about your power? Have you ever wondered why you can stretch like rubber?"

"What? I thought that everyone had a special power!" Luffy said, "My brother Ace did!"

"Ace? Do you mean Gol D. Ace?" Garp asked.

"No, his name is Portgas D. Ace," Luffy shook his head.

"The brat! He took his mother's name so that no one could recognize him," he muttered to himself. Garp turned back to Luffy, "His real name is Gol D. Ace. He's the son of Gol D. Roger, the God of Wealth and Fame. Ace was the God of Fire."

"Fire?" Luffy repeated. Luffy suddenly remembered that his brother had the ability to generate fire from any part of his body or anywhere around him. "That's why he could do all that...?"

"Ah! So you've seen his fire power, eh? And how about you? What strange things have you noticed yourself do?" Garp asked Luffy.

Luffy thought for a moment. "I've only seen myself stretch. That's all I can think of, though," Luffy replied.

Garp nodded. "I see... Nothing stranger than that, huh? Well, I'll just go ahead and tell you who you are. I don't believe that you know who you are still. You are Monkey D. Luffy, the God of Life and Happiness."

"Life and Happiness?" Luffy's eyes brightened. It felt good to know what he was, especially since it was something nice. "Why do I stretch, then?"

"You stretch because of the remaining power that flows within your blood. Since happiness makes people feel bouncy and jumpy, you are the essence of that feeling, which is why you can stretch," Garp explained, "When you were very young, you stayed in the Human World for too long, so you got cursed to lose your memory of any heavenly power that you had, which is why you don't remember who you are. Since you weren't training and enhancing your heavenly power in Deiterra - or at all - you aren't at your full power, yet."

Luffy leaned forward with an interested grin. "I'm not at my full power, yet? So what can I do with my full power?"

"Well, since you're Happiness, and Happiness makes the heart beat faster, your heart can beat at any speed you'd want, making you run, punch, or do anything faster than you could before. Happiness also makes you feel bigger than you actually are, or more powerful, so you can change your size at will, as well. When you become strong enough, you will be able to grant wishes for people you care about, you'll also be able to do everything that other gods can do: such as flying, appearing and disappearing, and other things like that."

Luffy's face lit up in excitement. "Really! Ooh~! I'm sugei, sugei~! Ne, Heavenly Grandpa?"

"Can you call me just Grandpa or somethin' like that, please?"

"Show me how to be that awesome!" Luffy ordered Garp.

Garp burst out laughing. "Bwahahahahaha! You think I can just snap my fingers and bring back your powers? That's not how it works, kid! You've got to earn your powers back! Saving people, doing good deeds, and - most of all - doing things for the gods."

Luffy raised a confused eyebrow and cocked his head. "What kinds of missions?"

Garp smirked. "Ah? You're interested, aren't yah? Well, then you'll be happy to know that I have this one mission for you. Would you like to accept it?"

Luffy stood still. Finally, he nodded. "I'm ready."

* * *

"For the love of Oda! Where is he?" Sanji growled as he chewed his piece of steak. "Wouldn't he have come running back the moment he heard us eating the meat that he eyeing a little while ago?"

Zoro swallowed his piece. "He's a mystery. It'd be better to just go with it rather than try to figure him out."

Nami frowned and looked back at the woods. "I'm worried about him... Should we go look for him?"

"Don't worry about him! He's fine!" Zoro insisted. "He grew up in these woods, he's not dead or anything like that. He's just distracted with something that he saw in the forest or something. You don't have to worry."

"Why are you worrying?" Everyone looked up to see Luffy standing above them. Luffy sat down next to Zoro and grabbed a huge piece of meat. "Ooh~! Good! I've been waiting for this piece of meat for too long!"

"Hey! Where were you?" Usopp asked. "We were worried that you got lost or something!"

"I didn't get lost!" Luffy laughed.

"Then what _were _you doing?" Nami questioned.

Luffy stared at her for a little while. "What do you mean by that? I just saw something in the forest, so I decided to go check it out to see what it was. You shouldn't have been worried about me."

"Then what did you find in the forest that took you so long to come back?" Sanji interrogated.

Luffy hesitated. He bit into his meat again, chewed, and swallowed. "Nothing. I found nothing. But, I know where I want to go, now! I've got to go stop someone."

"And who's that?"

"The new leaders of the world! They're the ones causing all of this havoc, you know! I haven't seen them try to stop any bad things from happening in the world! Or is that only because I was in the jungle for my entire life?" Luffy explained.

"I... I suppose you're right..." Nami murmured. No one wanted to admit it that the leaders of the world had never stepped in to help any of them, especially because their new leader was suggesting to bring them down. They were the leaders of the entire world! No sane man wanted to attack such powerful people, save for one person, though...

"Perfect! Then I say that we should get going!" Luffy exclaimed, "C'mon, guys! Let's bring down the World Government!"

* * *

**I can't tell... Was this chapter too short? Oh well, that's all I wanted in this chapter. If I added more, it would just be fluff.**

**Sorry this took so long to publish! I'll publish earlier next time! I promise! :)**

**By the way, do I make too many grammar mistakes? If so, just ask and I'll go through the entire story over again editing it, and also every time that I make a new chapter. Thanks~!**

**Things are going to start getting interesting in this story~! MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :D All right, that's all I have to say... I hope you enjoyed this chapter~! Have a great week~! See y'all next time~! :D**


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